A sermon on the subject of the slave trade; : delivered to a society of Protestant dissenters, at the new meeting, in Birmingham; and published at their request

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SERMON

ON THE SUBJF.CT OF

THE SLAVE TR A D E5

DELIVERED TO A SOCIETY OF

PROTESTANT DISSENTERS,

AT T H fe

NEW MEETING, in BIRMINGHAM;

AND PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQUEST*

By JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, LL.D. F.R.S,

— And hath made of one Hood all nations of men
to dwSll on alJ the face of the earth.

Acts xvii. a.6*

BIRMINGHAM,
Printed for. the author, by pearson and rolia3ok.j

ANO S01B BV J. JO'UNSONj NO. ']%, 5T. PAUl's CEU&CB-S ARD, S-QWDftN,
MDCCLXXXVIII.

PRIGS ONE SHILLING.]

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T H E

P R E FA

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IPubiim this difcourfe not only in com-
pliancy with the requeft of a fociety of
chriftians whom I think myfqlf happy in
every opportunity of obliging, but alfo
becaufe I; thought that fame of the argu-
ments on which I have, infixed had not
been fflfBciently urged by other writers on
the famefubjecl:, and at the fame time to
evince my readinefs to join with chriftians
of all denominations in what appears to me
to be right and juft.

With the greateft fatisfaction mould I
always go with the multitude ^ if a regard to
the facred rights of trufh\$\& not, on fome
occafions, forbid it. Happy it is, however,
that there are fome cafes in which almoil
all who are truly confcientious, and who

A 2s feel

$ P k E F A G E„

feei the influence of humane and chnftiari

fentimerits, will concur. May this beget a

perfuafion, that we may be equally con-

fcientious, and moved by a regard to what

WelleerrQto b|\ the genuine inte'refts' of

chriftianity, in thofe things on which we

differ 3 and that though different interefts

and connexions may, unknown- to durfel ves ',

give us ' different fentiment'sj1 • view$V; .ana

purfuits l| the time1 will come when this

undue influence will ceafe* ariB^e mall-be

able calmly to trace the tr"iie*fduftie: and

erfecls of it. Arid as this is only the infancy

bif our being, it may be prefumedj that

What we obferv"e'arM experience h-erbj1 may

be an ufeful lefloii to us in our future- pro-*
fs ■■'''.. ' "

With refpec! to the melancholy fcene
that is now before us, we muft content our^
felves with faying, that the ways of God are
a great deep, and his ■ footjieps in the mighty
waters, not to be traced by us, at leaft at
prefent. But we are fufficiently authorized
" to add, that thou A l clouds and " darhnefs are
~ 5 round

PREFACE. v

round about him, righteoufnefs and judgment
are ever the habitation of his throne* Unlefs
this maxim be deeply imprefTed upon our
minds, and made familiar to us by frequent
meditation, we mufl, if we reflect at all,
be ftaggered with a view of the vices, as
well as the miferies, which it feems wife
and right in Divine Providence to permit
on this wide theatre of the world.

As we cannot fay what evils are ufeful in
the general plan, or to what height they
may fafely and ufefully rife (this being far
above our comprehenfion) it cannot be our
duty to imitate the Divine Being in this
part of his conduct. But as we are fatisfied
that all evil is ultimately fubfervient to
good, and that it is the intention of Provi-
dence finally to exterminate all evil^ in this
mofl delightful employment we may, and
ought, as his own children, to act like God ;
exerting ourfelves, by every means in our
power, to remove the prejudices, correct
the errors, cure' the vices, and relieve the
diftrefjes, of our fellow creatures. In ex^
b ertions

VI

PREFACE.

ertions of this kind, our motives are pure,
pious, and benevolent. We feel as we are
are confcious we ought to do ; and with
whatever fuccefs it may pleafeGod to crown
our endeavours, we Oiall enjoy the fatif-
faction of having endeavoured, and our labour
will not wholly be in vain.

In this view it mud give every good man
an unfpeakable pleafure to fee the general
intereft that is now taken in behalf of the
Negro flaves. It makes us think better of
our countrymen, and of mankind. Hi as
fome think of the world, and of the human
race, there are in it many noble characters j
and if it was the object of the great fcheme
of Providence, as no doubt it was, to form
fuch characters, the end of all we fee, and
fometimes complain of, has been com-
pletely anfvvered; and if fcenes of difficulty
and diflrefs have, in any meafure, contri-
buted to form fuch characters, as undoubt-
edly they have, we mufl conclude that,
mocking as they appear to us, they have
riot been introduced into the fyftero in vain,

booking

PREFACE. vii

Looking at the tree, we may think it ill—
fhaped, and difgufting; but confidering the
fruit, we mufl approve and admire it.

I alfo confider the exertions that are now
making with us, and which are likely to be
adopted in other chriftian countries, as an
honour to chrijlianity. For no fuch gener-
ous fentiments were ever found, and no fuch
exertions were ever made, by heathens.
We have jufter ideas of the dignity of
human nature, and of the common rights
of humanity, than heathens ever had. At
the fame time that we juftly think that
every man is a great and exalted being (/. e.
capable of becoming fuch) we confider all
diftinclions among men as temporary, cal-
culated for the ultimate benefit of all; and
confequently that it is for the intereft of the
loweft orders, as well as of the higheft, that
fuch a fubordination mould fubfift. But
with this perfuafion all chriftian matters will
refpect and love their fervants and depen-
dants, and will think it their duty to make
their fituation as eafy and happy as poffible ;
b 2 confidering

viii PREFACE.

confidering them as brothers, and equals, iii
one, and that the mofl important fenfe, while
they treat them as inferiors in another j and
as thofe who will even rank above them
in another ftate, if they acquit themfelves
better in this*

Thefe are juft, noble, and elevating
fentiments, peculiar to believers in re-
vealed religion ; and- they are common to
all believers. We find them among papifts,
as well as protefrants, and among thofe
who are favoured by civil eftablifhments
of chriftianity, as welt as thofe that are
frowned upon by them. And thefe fenti-
ments will always be found among all
chriftians in proportion to the attention they
give to the great truths of our common
religion ; by which I mean the doctrines of
a God, of a Providence, and of a future
Irate. Thefe great truths have the ad-
vantage of being level to the meaneft ca-
pacity. A child may understand them.
And, at the fame time all that the wifeft
among us can attain to farther, adds but
2 , little

PREFACE. h

little to their practical influence. Let thefe
confiderations teach the different feels of
chriftians mutual candour, as reflections on
the difference of ranks among men mould
teach us humility and moderation.

Were we truly fenfible of the irieflimable
Value of truly chriftian principles, and felt
the influence of them, all chriftians would
refpect one another as fuch ; and, compared
with this great article of agreement, make
lefs account of thofe in which they differ.
When I was at Paris, a prieft of the Catholic
communion, diftinguifhed for his piety and
benevolence, as well as a tafte for fcience,
embraced me with tears when he found
that I uniformly avowed myfelf to be a
chriftian; faying I was the only perfon he
had met with, pretending to philofophy,
who did fo. I told him that I was indeed
a chriftian, but fuch as he would call a great
heretic. He replied, " No matter, you
" are a chriftian." Such magnanimity as
this, I have no opportunity of fhowing,
and might not be capable of. For no man

can

x P R E F A C E.

can anfwer for his own feelings and conduct
in new fituations. There is a degree of
abhorrence and contempt, with which the
members of great and old eftabliiliments.,
like that of the church of Rome, are apt
to regard feclarks, which the fectaries do
not feel for them. The reafon is, that the
members of an eflablifliment know much
lefs of fe&aries than fectaries do of them.
Thus the Heathens had a much worfe opi-
nion of chriltians, while they were feclaries,
than the chriiYians had of them. They
were confidered in fo defpicable a light by
many, that it was not thought worth while
to make any inquiry into the truth of the
fcandalous reports concerning them. The
mocking picture that is given pf Turkpins,
Beghards^ and other denominations of the
reformed, before the time of Luther, may
be feen in any ecclefiaftical hiftory.

How my excellent Parifian friend would
have felt if he had known the/ull extent of
my prefent herefy 1 cannot tell. Others,
however, of his communion are well ap-
prized

PREFACE. xi

prized of it, without thinking the worfe of
me, in a moral refpec~t, on that account. Of
fuch men as thefe chriftianity may juflly
make her boaft. In all, however, we
muft make allowance for human frailties,
from which no men, not even the apoftles,
were exempt.

With refpect to the fadls mentioned in
this difcourfe, I can only fay that I was far
from wifhing to exaggerate any thing -, but
have taken them from fuch accounts as ap-
peared to me to be the moft to be depended
upon ; and as the tracts from which I col-
lected them are in very common circulation,
I have no occafion to quote any of them.
Under humane matters, flaves may, no doubt,
enjoy a certain degree of happinefs ; but itill
they are flaves, fubjecl to the wills, and con-
fequently the caprices, of others ; and there
is no proper fecuriry from the greateft out-
rages, but in the protection of law,

I am happy to hear fince this Difcourfe
was fent to, the prefs, that one planter, who
employs a very great number of flaves, has

* had

xli F R E F A G E.

had no occafion to purchafe any frefli ones
thefe twenty years. This may convince us
that a floppage of the importation would
not be a great hardfhip upon the planters in
general. It would only compel them to
find their own interefl in treating their Haves
well, and in favouring their propagation.

On the other hand, I mufl add that I
have been informed by a perfon who refided
in Jamaica, that it is ufual for the Haves,
after they are purchafed, to fhudder at the
fight of a fire, or kitchen utenfils, imagin-
ing that they are to be killed and eaten, till
older flaves convince them that nothing of
that kind is intended. What the poor
creatures mufl fuffer with this idea on their
minds all the voyage, and the terror it mufl
imprefs on the country in general, in which
thoufands who are never taken know they
are liable to it, is not to be eflimated, and
for which no good treatment of Haves' can
compenfate. This is what a brute cannot
be made to fuffer, and mews how improper
and unnatural this trafficking with the bun
man fpscies mufl be,

W 'hie h of thefe three, thinkefl thou, was neigh-
bom to him that fell among the thieves ?
And he faid, he that fiewed mercy unto
him. Then faid Jefus unto him, Go thoii

and do likew'fe.

Luke x. 36, 37.

I

My chriftian brethren,

DO not know whether it be more in the
chara&er of men, or in that of chriflians,-
that I mall now take the liberty to addrefs
you. But if you feel as becomes either*
you cannot but lympathize with the mifer-
able and opprelTed of the human race, how
remote foever they be from yourfelves in
every other refpecl:. You will coniider all •
mankind as brethren, and neighbours, inti-
tled to every good office that it may be in
your power to render them. As men, and
as chriitians, obfervant of the instructions
of our great mafter in my text, we mould
intereft ourfelves not only for our relations,
and particular friends -9 not only for our
B countrymen ;

2 A Difcourfe on

countrymen $ not only for Europeans, but
for the diftreiled inhabitants of Afia, Africa,
or America ; and not only for chriftians,
but for Jews, Mahometans, and Infidels.
And as v*z ought to feel for our fellow-
men, we ought, to the utmoir. extent of our
influence, to exert ourfelves. to relieve their
diftrefies.

Does not, then, the cafe of the African
Negroes, who have long been unjuftly en-
flaved, and have been made to fuffer num-
bprlefs miferies, the lean: of which is mere
fervitude, in our Weft Indies, deferve our
companion, and loudly call for pur friendly
interpofition in their favour ? And furely
they are not the lefs in titled to it becaufe
their opprefTors are our countrymen, and
becaufe we have derived, or have imagined
that we have derived, benefit from their op-
prefiion. Now, then, that it has pleafed
God, who, for reafons juft and wife, no
doubt (becaufe fuch is his character) but
often unlearchable by us, permits the rife
and prog re fs of all the evils that we fee and
lament, has awakened th<£ attention o#many

in

r the Slave Tirade. %

in our nation to this great and growing
enormity, and to intereft great numbers in
favour of the unhappy fufFerers; let not us
be the laft, though we cannot have the ho-
nour of being the firft, to join heartily in
the meafures that are now taking for their
relief; it being propofed to recommend
their cafe to the confideration of parliament
the prefent feffton, and the friends of the
meafure thinking that a general application
from all parts of the country, and efpecially
from towns of note like this, will tend to
promote it, and almoft enfure its fuccefs.

Thoroughly to intereft you, and to en-
gage your warmed zeal in the caufe, no-
thing, my brethren, I am confident, will be
requiiite, befides ftating the fimple faffs ;
of the magnitude of which few perfons,
not perfonally concerned in this traffic of
the human fpecies, and the treatment to
which Haves are fubjecl, are fufficiently ap-
prized. Indeed, had the (hocking fcenes to
which the attention of the public is now
invited been generally known before, the
evil could not have grown to its prefent
B 2 height,

4 A Difconrfe on

height, or have exifted fo long as It has
done. The feelings of every man would
have revolted at it, and the fenfe of the na-
tion (exprelTed, as it would have been, by-
petitions, and remonftrances) would have
operated upon the legiflature long before
this time. Better, however, it is to make
what amends we can for our paft inatten-
tion, by now opening our eyes to this great
evil, than fuffer it to grow to a ftill greater
magnitude -, which, in the nature of things,
will always be attended with a greater dif-
ficulty of redrefs.

Could the prefent ftate of things have been
fo much, as imagined at the commencement
of this traffic, it might have been prevented
with the greater! eafe, as no body would have
been interefted in the continuation of it;
whereas at prefent many will think them-
fejves injured by the juft and righteous
me.afur.es that it will be necelfary to take in
the cafe. But then, if we wait frill longer,
and the trade be permitted to go on, and
extend itfelf farther, more perfons will be
interefted in it ^ they will, of co'urfe, be

able

^

the Slave Trade, 5

able to make a greater oppofition to the
meafure ; and thus the evil, though greater,
and more juftly complained of, will be more
difficult to remedy than it is now.

I mall proceed then to Mate this cafe as
briefly, and as impartially, as I can, and
anfwer all the moft important objections
that I have heard made to the propofed re-
drefs of the grievance complained of.

Few of you probably imagine, or will
readily believe, that, in order to raife our
fugar, and other Weft-India commodities,
perhaps half a million of perfons are an-
nually deftroyed, and in a manner peculiarly
mocking to humanity. To die by an earth-
quake, by peftilence, or even by famine,
would be merciful compared with the man-
ner in which many of thefe poor wretches
often perim. All the European plantations
taken together are faid to require an annual
fupply of iixty thoufand frefh flavesj but
thefe are thofe that remain after fo many
have died in what is called the feafoning,
before they can be brought to bear the la-
bour to which they are made to fubmit $ and
B 3 after

$ A DifcGurfe on

after fo many, more have been loft during
the voyage, owing to the mode of their
confinement, and ill ufage on board, that it
is faid not lefs than a hundred thoufand are
annually exported from Africa. And, fome*'
fay, that before this ten are deftroyed for
one that is fecured, and fafely lodged on
board the mips. Certainly, however, many
perifli, and many more fuffer very cruelly
before the mips can have got their proper
number, and be ready for failing.

You will afk who are the perfons that
are reduced to this wretched fervitude. I
anfwer, fome criminals, whofe offences may
be fuppofed to deferve jt. But thefe, from
the nature of things, can only be a few.
Others are prifoners taften in war. Thofe
wars, however, are undertaken for the fake
of making the prifoners, and of difpofing
of them in this manner. But very many
are thofe of 'their Own innocent fubjecls,
whom the tyrannical princes pf the country
violently feize upon, and fell. Great num-
bers alfo are continually kidnapped by any
tjiaf; can furprize and overpower them. And

thefe

the Slave Trade* 7

tlicfe fcenes of horror extend above a thou-
fand miles within land, for a vail: extent of
fea coaft. It is faid by fome, that crimes
and wars together do not now furnim one
flave in an hundred of thofe that are trans-
ported to America, they being generally fuch
as are kidnapped, or fold by their tyrants.

What thefe poor wretches are made to
fufFer while they are conducted to fuch a
diftance, for fuch a purpofe, before they
reach the mips ; what they fuffer in the
mips, and in their cruel bondage afterwards,
may in fome meafure be imagined by us,
when we confider that thefe men have the
fame feelings with ourfelves, and conceive
themfelves to be as unjuflly treated as we
mould do, if we were violently feized, con-
veyed away from all our friends, and con-
fined to hard labour all our lives in Africa.

In general, it is faid, that in our planta-
tions Daves are employed fo many hours
every day, excepting Sundays, in the fervice
of their matters, that they have only one for
themfelves, and but little for lleep. For re-
miflhefs in labour they are feverely beaten,
B 4 and

8 A JDifcourfe on

and for rebellion (as any attempt to reco-
ver their liberty is called) they are generally
gibetted alive. The mocking indecencies
to which the females are fubje&ed during the
voyage, and afterwards, and the cruel repa-
ration of the neareft relations and friends,
hufbands and wives,, parents and children,
both when they are put on board the fhips,
and at the place of fale, would be heard with
horror by all but thofe who are habituated
to this traffic.

This bufinefs was begun by the Portu-
guefe, but the Englifli entered into it (o
early as the year 15519 though contrary to
jthe exprefs orders of queen Elizabeth; and
no Europeans whatever ufe their Haves with
fo much cruelty as the Englifh. The Spa-
niards have made excellent regulations in
their favour, in confequence of which the
Haves can work out their own freedom;
and the French government has alfo inter-
pofed by a code of laws enacted for this very
purpofe. But the Haves belonging to the
Englifli are almoft wholly left to the mercy
of their maflers ; and the annual confump-

tion

the Slave Trade. g

tion of them is itfelf a proof of the moft
cruel ufage. For with good treatment even
flaves will increafe, as the Ifraelites did in
Egypt, and as tbefe very negroes do where
their mafters are men of fenfe and humanity.
But for this they have no obligation to our
laws.

Coniidering how long this abominable
traffic has fublifted, furely, my brethren, it
is high time to put an end to it. Hither-
to the nation in general has been but little
apprized of the enormity and extent of this
evil; and thofe who have been intereilied in
the continuance and extenfion of- it have
likewife been interefted to conceal the hor-
rid circumftances attending it. Confe-
quently, hitherto, the national guilt has
been lefs than it other wife would have been
in conniving at it. But now that the eyes
of the nation in general are in a great mea-
fure opened to it, and in the way of being
flill more fo, the national guilt will cer-
tainly be greater than ever, if an immediate
flop be not put to a fpecies of iniquity
i which

io A Difcourfe on

which calls fo loud for the vengeance of
heaven.

It may be faid that the particulars I have
recited are only the abufes of this traffic, and
not neceffarily attendant upon it, and that
thofe only are to be blamed who are con-
cerned in them. But this is a cafe in which
all that is worth retaining of the thing itfelf
is the abufe of it. For can you believe
that the proper criminals of a part of the
African coaft, or of the whole country of
Africa, or indeed of the world (thofe whofe
crimes could, by any equitable conftruclion,
be deemed worthy of fo fevere a punish-
ment) fupply our iflands with fixty thou-
fand flaves annually, befides more than an
equal number, that peridi in various ways be-
fore they can be brought to a ftate of fettled
ufeful fervitude. Small, indeed, would be
the flock, and little would it be worth the
while of the planters to encourage this traffic,
if it procured them only the criminals of
Africa, fuch as it would be for the intereft of
that country to have banifhed from it. And

all

the Slave Trade. 1 1

all the reft are innocent men, women, and
children, unjuftly deprived of their liberty,
and condemned to the moil cruel bondage,
to gratify the avarice of their brutim princes,
and of our traders and planters. But no lefs
guilty are we ourfelves, who, in order to
have our fugars, and other Weil-India
commodities, a little cheaper (though this
will be found to be a miftake) connive at,
and encourage, thefe iniquitous proceedings.
It is not, therefore, the abufe of a trade, but
the trade itfelf, that muft be abolifhed, if
any good be done in the cafe.

It is in vain for the country in general, or
ourfelves as a part of it, to pretend inno-
cence^ and leave all the guilt upon thofe
who are immediately concerned in this
traffic. For while it is not prohibited
by public authority, it will of courfe be
continued; and you muft be fenflble that
it cannot be continued without the mock-
ing abufes I have mentioned. The trade
itfelf, and the abufe of it, are fo connected,
that to authorize the one is to authorize the
Gtlier alfo. And it \$ m univerfal maxim?that

he

I a A Difcourje on

be who makes himfelf refponfible for any
meafure whatever, is refponfible for all that
he believes will be the adlual confequences
of that meafure, whether, ftricjtly fpeaking*
they be the necejfary confequences of it or
not.

AH the diftrefs, therefore, that is occa-
fioned in the country of Africa by the abufe
of power, and the frequent wars in order to
procure flaves; all the injuftice continually
exercifed by private individuals to trapan
others for that purpofej all the barbarities
exercifed towards the poor wretches fo fe-
cured, in forcing them on board the mips,
in keeping them there, and in their fervitude
afterwards; nay all the vices in which the
ilaves are indulged*, all the cruelties exer-
cifed by them, in their attempts to recover
their liberty, and the greater cruelties with
which fuch attempts are always punifhed,
will be laid to the account of the people of
this country in general, fo long as, knowing

* See a note in the excellent fermon preached before the
fociety for the propagation of the gofpel in foreign parts by
the prefent Bifhop of London, p. ir, fmall edition.

this

the Slave Trade, i 3

this to be the aBnalJiate of things, we fuiFer
it to proceed. Both the guilt of the oppref-
fors, and the mifery of the oppreffed, will
be equally laid at our door.

This guilt will lie the heaviefl:, no
doubt, upon minifters of ftate, and all thofe
who have the greateft influence in public
meaiures -y but a due proportion of it will
be imputed to all thofe who do not exert
whatever influence they may have to pre-
vent, it -, which includes all who do not pe-»
tition and remoniirate on the fubjecl:. For
fo much is what every man may do. This
is the leafl we can do to wafh our hands, and
aflert our innocence.

Some will farther fay, that there is no-
thing criminal mfervitude itfelf, that it has
been the practice of all nations, and all ages ;
that it was unqueftionably allowed in the
Old Teftament, and that, though frequent
mention, is made of flaves, chriilians and
others, in the New Tefkment, there is not
even there any cenfure of the practice.

Admitting this, both natural and revealed
religion inculcate an humane and equitable

treatment

14 A Dtfcourfe on

treatment of all that come under our powers
We are ftill under obligation to do to others
as we would that they fhould do to us, in the
fame circumitances. And this ruleofuni-^
verfal juflice and equity is fhamefully vio-
lated in our prefent practice. Beiides, nei-
ther reafon nor the feriptures will authorife
us to deprive of liberty, thofe whofe own
crimes, or at leaftthofe of their anceftors, have
not forfeited it; and this will go but a very
little way to vindicate the mocking trans-
actions that have been recited.

Moreover, we fee reafon enough to infer
that feveral cuftoms were permitted in the
early ages of mankind, fuch as polygamy,
and divorces, which are no longer lawful;
and though there is not in the New Testa-
ment any exprefs authority for the emanci-
pation of flaves, we may eafily fee the rea-
fon of it, as well as that the fpirit of chrif-
tianity leads to it. To have preached li-
berty to all captives, and freedom to all
flaves, in the age of the apoftles would
have been deemed rebellion againfl the go-
vernment then eftablifhed. We fee how-
ever,

the Slave Tirade* 15

ever, that the fentiments of chriftianity,
where they have fpread, have actually ope-
rated to the emancipation of flaves in a very
great part of the weftern world, which
once abounded with them ; and thofe that
yet remain in the eaftern parts of Europe,
there is reafon to think will obtain the
fame favour, and by the fame means, in due
time. Thus Chrift may be faid, in a
literal fenfe, to have preached liberty to the
captives, by his religion leading to the
emancipation of flaves.

Chriftianity teaches us to coniider all
mankind as brethren, equally the fubjects of
God's moral government here, and alike
heirs of immortality hereafter. Now,
whether it can be proved that thefe princi-
ples neceffarily lead to the emancipation of
flaves or not (any more than they lead to
take away all inequalities among men, thofe
of rich and poor, matters and fervants, &c.)
yet they will certainly lead us to give every
individual of the human race equal, at leaft
fufficient, advantages for improving his na-
ture, and preparing for a future ftate.

1b

1 6 A Difcourfe on

In this moil; important refpecl: the poor and
the rich, the mailer and the fervant, may-
be equal. But alas ! not fo the flave in the
Weft-Indies. It is the interefl of the mas-
ters., at leaft they too generally imagine it
to be their interefl:, to treat their flaves (un-
checked by any law) in the fame manner
as they would mere brutes ; fo that they
are. deprived of every advantage of their ra-
tional nature, and are rendered incapable of
deriving any benefit from chrifiianity -, from
which, indeed, too many of the mailers vo-
luntarily deprive themfeives **

* That it would be for the advantage of matters and flaves,,
if due attention were given to their iriftruclion, cannot be
doubted; Let the reader/judge of this from the following
note to the Bifhop of London's fermon, quoted before, p. 29.
" That fuch a real and general conversion of the negroes, as is
" here propofed, is no romantic projeft, but a thing perfectly
" practicable ; and that it would be highly beneficial both to

the flaves and their proprietors is evident from the progrefs
*' already made in this work by the Moravian miffionaiies. In
" the Danifh iflands of St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John,
" they have profelyted near 6,000 negroes. They have alfo a
" congregation of feveral thoufands in the ifland of Antigua.
*' This faft has been confirmed to me, very lately, by a clergy -
" man who has lived many years in that ifland ; and I have
" been affured by a gentleman of credit, who faw them at pub-
" lie worfhip, that their dtportment was remarkably ferious,

attentive,

the Slave Trade. tj

Of fome m afters better things may no
doubt with truth be faid ; but in ge-
neral, I believe it is true of the Haves
in the poffeffion of the Englifh, that
they have no opportunity of hearing any
thing more of chriftianity than they would
have had in the heart of Africa. This
certainly mould not be permitted by
any government which profefTes to take
upon itfelf the eftablifhment of the chrif-
tian religion. For furely it will not be
maintained, that the objecl: of thefe efta-
blifhments is the mere emolument of the
clergy, and not the inftruction of the fub-
jecls in the principles of chriftianity. This
is the profejfed end of the fyftem, and the

" attentive, devout, and edifying. And they fo greatly fur-
" pafs all the other (laves in fobriety, diligence, quietnefs, hde-
" lity, and obedience, that the planters ate anxious to have
" their negroes put under the direction of the milfionaries,
" whom they greatly encourage. In the French iflands alfo,
" the converfion of the negroes by the Rofniih pfieils and
" miffionaries is univerfal. The confequence is, that the
" French flaves are much more decent, honeft, regular, and
" orderly, than thofe of the Englifli. If fuch be the effects
" even of erroneous fyftems of faith, what might not be expeft-
'* ed from the doctrines of the church of England, inculcated
V with equal zeal ?

C provifion

1 8 A Difcourfe on

provifion that is made for the clergy is only

a means to that end *.

But whether government dire&Iy inter-
fere in this bufinefs or not,, it ought to re-
move every impediment in the way of reli-
gious inftruclion, and put it in the power
of every clafs of men to profit by the doc-
trines and precepts of chriftianity, if they
pleafe. If we be chriftians ourfelves,- it
will be our endeavour to make others fo ;
and there can be no greater evidence of a
man being no chriftian himfelf, than his
indifference about extending the bleffings
of chriftianity to others, and efpecially
thofe whom providence has committed to
his care, his children, his fervants, and his
dependants in general.

But without considering men as made for
immortality, and capable of the great blef-
fings they may derive from chriftianity, there
is fomething in the principles of human
nature, that declares againft fervitude, and
mews it to be an improper ftate for man,

* As the Weft India iflands are, I believe1, within the dio-
cefe of London, fhould not the bifhops of that fee have given
particular attention to thefe poor fouls under their care.

5 though

the Slave Trade. ip

though not for brute beajis. Thefe are ca-
pable of being happy in a flate of fervitude*
fome of them more fo than in a flate of li-
berty. The reaibn is that they have little
reflexion on the paltj or anticipation of the
future. But man has the power of re-
flexion in an eminent degree; and it is this
that makes him miferable in a ftate of fer-
vitude. Through agony of mind, greats
numbers of Negroes put an end to their
own lives, both before they embark, when
they are on fhip board, and during fervi-
tude afterwards. And how wretched mull;
be many others, who have not the refoiu-
tion to come to that horrid extremity.
What the planters call the feafoning of the
ilaves, depends as much upon the mind as
upon the body. While the thoughts of
their country, their relations, and friends^
are frefh in their minds, and a fenfe of
their abject condition (arifing from a com-
parifon of it with their former flate) pecu-
liarly pungent, their health will be pre-
carious, and their lives uncertain. And
they will be incapable of any degree of
C 2 happinefs

20 ^ Difcourfe on

happinefs in a ftate of fervitude, till their
feelings are blunted, and they are reduced
to a condition nearly approaching that of
the brutes. By a continual attention to
fome one thing they become expert in it,
but they will be incapable of embracing
many other objects.

Some Europeans, finding Negro Haves
in this wretched degraded condition, to
which themfeives have reduced them, have
had the aifurance, and the folly, to pro-
nounce them to be a fpecies of men
greatly inferior to themfeives. But were
Europeans treated in the fame manner a fuf-
iicient length of time, it is demonflrable
that the mofl intelligent of them all would
be no better. Thofe who fee Negroes in
their native country, or in circumftances of
better treatment among ourfelves, are fatif-
fied that they are by no means inferior to
Europeans in point of undemanding.

According to the obfervations of a late
ingenious traveller, the ancient Egyptians,
fo famed for their wifdom, were the very
fame people with the prefent Negroes. -

There

the Slave Trade.

21

There is therefore fomething in the na-
ture and conftitution of man that renders
him an improper fubject of fervitude. He
was made for a better condition, being na-
turally qualified to enjoy and adorn it ; and
it is acting contrary to nature, to degrade
his condition below the ftandard of his
powers.

Befides, the matter of a flavc is in a fitu-
ation as improper for his nature as the flave
himfelf. They are both materially injured
by the relation. Such a power as that
which a matter exercifes over a flave necef-
farily tends to make him haughty, cruel,
and capricious, unfit for the fociety of his
equals, which is the happiett ftate of man.
Perfons who are bred in the Weft Indies,
and have long been in the habit of being
ferved by flaves, are eafily dittinguilhed from
other men of the fame nation. They are
not themfelves aware how much their na-
tures are debafed, and how offenfive their
behaviour often is to others. We mould
by all means then, if we have any idea of
the dignity of human nature, and if we have

C 3 at

22 A Djfiourje on

at heart the real interefl of the mailer, as
well as that of the (lave, put an end to this
unnatural and improper diflinction among
thofe who are partakers of the fame common
nature.

There are fome who fay that the Negroes
are no lefs flaves in their own country than
m the Weil Indies, and that, in many re-
fpects, their condition is bettered by the
removal. Admitting this (which however
is far from being true) what right has any
man to judge for another, and even to better
his condition by force ? But the woril cir-
cumflance in the condition of the Negroes
at home is that which has been occafioned
by this traffic, which makes it the interefl:
of the powerful to opprefs the weak. Re-
move this incentive to tyranny and avarice,
and there can be no doubt but the Negroes
in Africa will be as well treated as the fub-
jects of other arbitrary governments, in
which the poor are leaft liable to he mo-
lefled, and in which it is the interefl of
the fovereign to protect and befriend his
fubjeds, as a father his family. Befides

political

the Slave Trade 23

political Jlavery is a very different thing from
domejlic. In the former fenfe all the Turks
may be faid to be Haves ; but they are not
fuch flaves as the Negroes in our Weft-
Indies. They have valuable rights, which
the fovereign himfelf holds facred, and d^res
not invade. But what is it that the enilaved
Negro can call his own ?

The prodigious wafle of flaves is itfelf,
as I have obferved, a proof of their wretched
condition, that they are deprived of all the
comforts of domeilic life, and treated no bet-
ter than horfes, and other cattle, are with us.

Let not then the good fenfe of English-
men fuffer their humanity to be retrained
from exerting itfelf by mere words. Let
perfons call things by what names they
pleafe, but let abufes of every kind be cor-
rected, let impartial jufiice be adminiftered,
and let mercy be fhewn to all that need it ;
and then a period will be put to this groffeft
of all abufes, perhaps the greateft, and moll
crying evil under the fun.

Some may fay that the prefent condition

of the Negroes is the fulfilment of an an-

C 4 cient

24 -^ Difcourfe on

eient prophecy, in which Ham is declared to
be the fervant of Shem and of Japhet. But
it is with moft probability thought that
this ancient prophecy relates only to the
fubjugation of the Canaanites, who were
defcended from Ham, or at moft to that of
the Tyrians and Carthaginians, who had in
a great meafure the fame origin. However,
admitting that this cafe is in part the
fulfilment of that prophecy, that will not
exculpate us in our treatment of the Negroes.
It was the intention of the Almighty that
jofeph mould be fold into Egypt, and alfo
that our Saviour mould be crucified ; but
the guilt of jofeph's brethren, and that of
the Scribes and Pharifees, was not the lefs
for that circumftance. Befides, the fcrip-
tures have been abundantly fulfilled in the
cafe of the fubjecuon of the defendants of
Ham. And as God appoints no evil for its
pwn fake, but with a view to a greater
good, fo it has pleafed his wife providence
to provide remedies for all evils, which
operate in their proper time. It may, there-
fore, be hoped, that the fervitude of the

Negroes

the Slave Trade, 2$

Negroes is drawing near to its completion ;
and perhaps their future condition may be
as happy as their prefent is calamitous. It
is not faid that the pofterity of Ham mall
always be Haves. When the happy time
mail come that the wolf jh all lie down with
the lamb, when the world mall be a fcene
of univerfal peace (which the fure word of
prophecy certifies to us, and the prefent
Hate of things makes highly probable) it
may be prefumed that fervitude alfo will be
at an end, and the diflinction of majler and
Jlave exift no more.

Some fay that if we abandon the flave
trade we give up a valuable fource of na-
tional profit, and yield it to our rivals.
Should this be the cafe, (till a chriftian na-
tion mould not hefitate to do what is right
in itfelf. A trade fo circumstanced as this
mayjurtlybe termed wicked, and unlawful^
fuch as no advantage can juftify. Alfo,
with nations as with individuals, bonefiy is
ultimately the beft policy.

I apprehend, however, that we mall be
far from being lofers by ceafing to trade

with

% 6 A Difcoitrfe on

with Africa for men. The fame people, for
the fake cf the fame commodities for which
they commit fuch horrid outrages on one.
another, would certainly do any thing elfe
to procure them -3 and the country is fruit-
ful of produces which might be of more
value to us than all the flaves we bring from
thence. In a country of that vail: extent, if
we favoured the civilization of it, as by our
intercourfe we might do, initead of con-
tributing to keep it in that (late of favage
barbarity in which it is at prefent, the
inhabitants, having already a fondnefs for
many of our commodities, would foon ar-
rive at a ftate in which they would want
more of them. If we only give them an
idea of a better condition than they at
prefent enjoy, they will foon find the means
of obtaining it. If the Negroes are lazy at
home (though they whoafiert this can with
little decency maintain that their condition
is bettered by flavery) it is becaufe they
have no motive to exert themfelves. Thejjr
wants are few, and eafiiy fupplied. But
people inhabiting climates as hot as theirs

. are

the Slave Trade, 27

are laborious and civilized, giving and re-
ceiving the greater! benefits by their commer-
cial, intercourfe with various other nations.
There can be no doubt, therefore, but that,
were this barbarous Have trade aboliflied,
and the civilization of Africa promoted,
for one bale of any kind of goods that
we now fend to it, we fhould foon ten$.
many, and in a much greater variety; fa
that the manufacturers of this country in
general would find a great benefit from
a change of the fydem, and not one of them
would be a lofer.

Some will fay how (hall we get fugar,
and the other products of the Weft-India
iilands, now raifed by Haves, if llavery be
abolimed. I anfwer, our firft care mould
be to do jujiice, and Jhow mercy , let what
will become of the fuperfluities, or even
the necefiaries, of life. But I would afk,
how did we do before we had brought
ourfelves into this unnatural fituation? There
was then no want of fugar, or of fome fub-
flitute for it, though the ufe of this luxury
was not then fo common. Let every thing

for

28 A Difcourfe on

for the ufe of man be raifed by men who
fhall be paid the full price of their labour,
and let thofe who cannot pay that price go
without it, as they do with refpect to other
things.

Befides, it is demonflrable that we may
have fugar, and every other commodity that
we now raife by means of Haves, even cheaper
without flaves -, either by encouraging the
culture of them in Africa, and other fuitable
climates*, and purchafing them there with
our own proper commodities (without the
expence of fettling and defending plantations
of our own) or even by the labour of free-
men in thofe plantations. Abolifh flavery,
and the labour now performed by flaves will
not be confidered as difgraceful.

It is faid that the Quakers, who from the
pureft principles of humanity and chrifti-

* Mr. Ofborne, who was employed in the negpciation of
the late peace, affured me, that fugar might be raifed in Africa,
by the labour of free negroes, and be fold in London, at one-
half the price that we now give for it; but that it would be
necefTary to fecure the favour of the chiefs by prefents from
government. He had had a plantation of his own in that
country, on which he employed, as nearly as I can remember,
three hundred negroes.

i anity

the Slave Trade, 29

anity manumitted their Haves, found, even
to their furprize, that they gained more by
their fervice as freemen, when they paid
them wages, than they did by them as ilaves,
when they gave them no wages at ail 5 the
Negroes laboured fo much more chear-
fully, and did fo much more work, when
freemen than when flaves*

At all events, let fervitude be abolifhed,
and leave it to the ingenuity and industry
of our countrymen to find a fubftitute for
it. When things are brought into a com-
plex and unnatural flate, it is not eafy to
revert to that which is proper and natural I
but in time it will be done. And perhaps
the immediate emancipation of all ilaves
would be an improper, becaufe in fact no
humane meafure. Thofe who have been
long flaves would not know how to make
a proper ufe of freedom. But if a {top was
put to the farther importation of ilaves, it
would immediately become the interefl of
the mailers to make the moil; of their prefent
flock, and confequently to treat their flaves
with more humanity j fo that in time their

condition

30 A Difcourfe on

condition would be the fame with that of
the villeins in the Feudal times of this
country 5 and by degrees approach to that
of freemen. Or freedom might be placed
within the reach of the more induftrious of
the (laves, as it is with the Spaniards and
French; and the man who mall have worked
himfelf free would know how to make a
proper ufe of his freedom, and would be
prepared to make a valuable member of
fociety. However, to take the moil prudent
meafures in the cafe mufl be left to the
wifdom of parliament. Ours is to exprefs
our good' w-ifhes in the caufe, and by our
zeal to excite them to do what they mall
deem the moil proper.

What is proposed to be done by England
is already done in Virginia, Delaware, and
Rhode Ifland, and is likely to take place in
all the States of America*. It will be an

* One of the North American provinces, as they then were
(I think it was New- York) fome time before the commence-
ment of the American war, paffed a law again 11 the importation
of Haves, bin on account of the oppofition made to it by fome
merchants in England it was not confirmed in the Privy Coun-
cil of this country. Shall we fay that the government which
will havej/5W« does not deferve to \izxzfubjefis P

honour

the Slave Trade. 31

honour to this country, and the mod glori-
ous event in the prefent reign, if the ex-
ample mould be followed here. It will be
honourable to every perfon in proportion to
the fhare he mail have in bringing it about.
But in this we muft ail give place to the
Quakers, who were the firfr. to mew them-
felves friends to the rights of humanity ;
and what is more, who were the firft to
decline any advantage which they, in com-
mon with others, might have derived from,
this inhuman traffic with our own fpecies.

With Englishmen I may be allowed to
argue from that love of liberty by which they
profefs to be actuated. For furely we are
not fuch felfim beings, as to wifh to engrofs
every thing valuable. If we have any fenti-
ments1 of benevolence, or fenfe of common
equity, .we mail wifh to fee every thing
extended to others that we covet for our-
felves. As we Rnglifhmen, then, would leafl
brook the condition of the Negroes in our
plantations, we ought to have the moft
companion for them, and, remote as they
are from us in fituation and condition, we

mould

22 A Difeourfe on

mould confider them as brethren and neigh-
bours, and therefore exert ourfelves to the
utmoft for their relief.

Englimmen are alfo no lefs renowned for
their generofity than for their love of liberty.
Our charities, for every defcribable human
want, are far more numerous than thofe of
any other nation in the world. They have
often been extended to ilrangers as well as
to natives. Let the fame principle operate
on this occafion, than which none can more
loudly call for it. If thofe be the moil
proper objects of generoiity who ftand in
the mofl need of it (and according to my
text we mould confider ourfelves as neigh-
bours to all thofe to whom we have an
opportunity of acting a neighbourly or
friendly part) none can Hand to us in that
relation more nearly than the wretched Ne-
groes ; no part of the human race furTering
more, or more unjuftly; or who have it lefs
in their power to help themfeives. As their
complaints cannot even be heard by thofe
who have the power to relieve them, and they
are, indeed,. utterly ignorant of the exigence

of

the Slave Trade 33

of any fuch power on earthy we fhould make
their complaints, and urge their pleas for
them. As it is in our power to give them
this affiftance, we are in duty bound to do
it. For it is an univerfal truth> that the
obligation to do a good office ever accom-
panies the power of doing it. Where God
gives the one, he requires the others

I think myfelf peculiarly happy that, in
recommending the relief of the diftrefied
African flaves, I can join heartily with
every denomination of chriftians in the
country, the catholics, the members of the
eftablifhment, and diuenters of all denomi-
nations. This is not the caufe of unita-
rianimii of arianifm, or of trinitarianifm,
but limply that of humanity^ and our com-
mon cbriftianity $ and as I have frequently,
and with peculiar pleafure* obferved, all the
articles on which we differ are trifling com-
pared to thofe with refpect to which all
chriftians are, and ever have been, agreed.

We all believe in the obligation of the

moral duties of life; we all believe in the

divine minion of Chrift, in a righteous

E> providence

34 & Difcourfe on

providence of God here, and in a ftate of
rewards and punimments hereafter; and
thefe are the only things that are of real
efficacy in religion. Other things, indeed,
have their value, and great value ; but it is
of a kind far inferior to this. They may
recommend our religion to thofe who are
not much difpofed to receive it, and they
may lead us to contemplate it with more
fatisfa&ion ourfclves, as more agreeable to
to reafon, and the fcriptures (and no real
friend of revelation can wifh to fee thefe
things at variance) but any fpecies of chrifli-
anity, really believed, and acted upon, will
make men fbber, benevolent, and pious ;
good friends, and good neighbours, kind and
ufeful in all the relations of life, entirely re-
ligned to the will of God, and difpofed to co-
operate in ail that he fhall recommend to us.
Had the infinitely fuperior importance
of thefe great articles of ehriftian faith,
which immediately refpect, and effectually
iecure, the great object of chriftianity
(which ^brings life and immortality to light,
and which was given to bkfs mankind

in

the Slave Trade. 35

in turning them from their iniquities J the
eftablimment of other articles, which have
little or no relation to this great object,
would not have been fo eagerly contended
for. It would have been thought fufrlcient
to enforce the belief of fuch things as really
diftinguiih chriflians from other men ; and
that with refpect to things of lefs moment,
all chriflians might be permitted to think
and act as they pleafed, provided they gave
no difturbance to their neighbours. Upon
this reafonable plan, truth would have its
proper advantage over error -, whereas at
prefent, whatever errors may happen to be
eflablimed, being fupported by power, their
reign (as in the days of popifh darknefs and
fuperftition) will be greatly prolonged. But
it is, no doubt, for the befl, that truth
mould have an opportunity of triumphing,
as we may be confident it will, in circum-
ftances the moil unfavourable to its pro-
pagation. In fimilar circumftances was
chriftianity itfelf at its firft promulgation.
Let us, then, think no more than may be
neceffary of the things on which we differ,
D 2 which

2Jb A Difcourfe on

which tends to create diflike, and as mHch
as poffible on thofe with refpedt to which
we are agreed, which may promote mutual
candour, love, and affection.

It feems to be the intention of Divine
Providence, that every thing fhould be
brought to perfection by degrees. If we
have any faith in hiftory and prophecy, the
laft age of the world is to be infinitely
preferable to any thing that we have yet
experienced; and certainly the prefent
flate of things is preferable to any that
is pail. By means of chriftianity chiefly,
the great governor of the world is gradually
bringing on a flate of univerfal peace and
happinefs, which mull:, as I have obferved,
imply the abolition of ilavery, as well as of
every other evil. But God works by injiru^
ments \ and his instruments in things that
refpecr. mankind, are chiefly men.

Let us then confider ourfelves as being
workers together with God, in bringing
about an improved flate of things, in bet-
tering the condition of our fpecies, and
extending the juft rights of humanity to all

our

the Slave Trade* 37

our race 5 thus recommending the gofpel
which we all profefs, that gofpel. which is
calculated to bring peace upon earth, and
goodwill to men, and which, when it fhall
be univerfally received and obeyed, will
make all mankind righteous and happy.
Thus it will make even this world a real
paradife, and fit us for a flate of greater
glory and happinefs in another,

A PRAYER.

A PRAYER.

L MIGHTY, and ever-bleffed God,

who haft of one blood made all nations of
men, to dwell upon the face of all the earth,
and haft determined the times before appointed,
and the bounds of their habitation ; who art
equally the God, and the father, of all the
families of the earth, and who art the refuge
of th-e oppreffed,; extend thy compaffion, we
befeech thee, to all thine offspring, and our
brethren, of mankind.

Do thou, in whoje hand are the hearts of
all men, and who tumeft them, as the rivers oj
water, which way fo ever thou pleafeft, awaken
in the minds of all who are at eafe, a due
feeling for the miferable; that thofe who
have the power to do it, may loofe all the
bands of wickednefs, undo all heavy burdens,
let the opprejfed go free, and break every un-
ju ft yoke -, and may the great bleilings which,
by thy favour, we enjoy, be equally fhared
by all the human race.

More efpecially, may thofe of our fpecies
who, in any part of the world, are outwardly
in the condition of brute beads, but who
are often inwardly more afflicted than brute
beads are capable of being, be rellored to
the common rights of humanity; and by
the bleilings of civilization, and equitable
government, may they be prepared to receive
the fuperior advantages of chriflianity, in
the knowledge of thy truth, and the prof-
peel;

[ 39 ]

peel; of a happy immortality, as revealed to
mankind by thy fon Jefus Chrift ; that by
means of the glad tidings of the gofpel, they
may be turned from darknefs to light, receiv-
ing the forgive nefs of fins, and an inheritance
among them that are [anffified. Thus may the
kingdom of thy fon be extended, and fill the
whole earth.

To prepare the way for thofe glorious
times, when the gofpel fhall be univerfally
received, remove from it thofe corruptions
'and abufes, which ft ill, alas ! too generally,
and too clofely, adhere to it, fo as greatly
to obftruct its progrefs. But, above all, may
thofe who profefs it, be careful to adorn it
by a fuitablc life and converfation, that
others, feeing their good works, may glorify
thee their father in heaven. And may it
not be our condemnation, a condemnation
greater than that of Sodom and Gomorrah,
of Tyre and Sidon, in the day of judgment,
that light is come into the world, hut that we
have loved darknefs rather than light, becaufe
our deeds were evil.

May we mew the value we have for the
bleffings of chriftianity, by our exertions
both to free it from every thing that debafes
it, and to impart it, thus purified from
bafe alloy, toothers; being the instruments
in thy hand of difFuiing truth, virtue, and
happinefs through the world.

Blefs our native country. May we con-
tinue to fhare thy favour, in the enjoyment

of

E 46 ]

of our liberties, civil and religious $ and ill
confequence of making a fuitable improve*
ment of our. many advantages* may we he
that happy people who]} God is the Lord, If
any individuals of Our nation* from art in-
ordinate love of gain* have been guilty of
injuftice and oppreffion, above thofe of other
nations, may the generofity of others be
roufed to greater exertions, in order to put
a flop to it j and, as far as poffible,,may re-
paration be made for paft wrongs, by our
fuperior regard to equity and humanity in
future time.

Blefs thy fervant our fovereign ; ejlablijh
his throne in righteoujhefs, and make his
reign a bleffing to the lateft pofterity. May
it be dilHnguifhed by every thing that can
render a reign truly illuftrious, and memo-
fable ; by the extenlion of fcience, of arts,
manufactures, and commerce, as the fource
of national profperity, but ftill more by the
greater purity of chrifrian faith, by removing
every impediment in the way of a farther
reformation, and extending the blefiings of
civilization and true religion to the moft
diftant parts of the earth.

Hear us, gracious God, we intreat thee*
in thefe our requefts, as far as mail be
agreeable to thy infinite Wifdom and good-
nefs. We afk it as the difciples of thy fon
Jefus Chrift, through whom, to thee, O
Father, the only living and true God, be
afcribe4 everlaiUng praifes. Amen.